MoveOn v. Limbaugh

Just a point of comparison between MoveOn's ad in the NYT and Limbaugh attacking anti-war troops as "fake soldiers" (and he should know given his own vast military experience).

Horses Mouth September 28, 2007 2:28 PM: "MoveOn's ad on Mighty Scholar-Warrior Petraeus questioned his credibility, not his service. Republicans successfully sprinkled their Deception Dust all over the story and turned it into an attack on the troops. And the media bit -- hard. As usual, the justification for covering and punditizing about the story was that Dems are vulnerable to charges that they are anti-military; therefore, the GOP's demand that they condemn MoveOn was scoring political points; and perversely, this is what made the GOP assault news.

By contrast, Rush Limbaugh actually did impugn the service of soldiers who favor withdrawal from Iraq. But because Republicans aren't vulnerable to charges that they're anti-military, this doesn't give Dems as clear an opportunity to score political points by demanding that Repubs condemn him. Therefore, it isn't as newsworthy. Yes, the Limbaugh story is getting some traction today. But it will get nowhere near the attention that the GOP attack on Dems over the MoveOn ad got.